Like every family during the 6 weeks of summer holidays, we try and find things to entertain the kids, which creates happy memories of a great time together.

However, our trips usually involve much more planning than most people’s, which is why we use AccessAble when planning a day out. We have our daughter Lottie, who is 7, and our son Sebby, who is 8. Sebby has an undiagnosed gross motor delay which means he is unable to walk unassisted, and his legs get tired quickly.

Attractions present obstacles and barriers for him, and we must navigate the accessibility information to decide if it is suitable for him, and if it is, which piece of equipment to bring along with us. Sebby can use crutches for short distances or for longer distances his RaceRunner which is a bulky mobility aid a bit like a trike that he moves with his feet instead of using pedals.

Why we use AccessAble

We find information on websites generally don’t give us enough information. For example, saying something is ‘wheelchair accessible’ is great, but does that mean the building is small enough for us to leave his RaceRunner in the car, so he can do the attraction/museum/shop just on his crutches, or is it large enough that his legs will get too tired?

Equally saying it is not ‘wheelchair accessible’ also is not as helpful as it may sound. Why is it not wheelchair accessible? For example, are there 3 stairs or 100? If 3, that is accessible to Sebby as we can assist him up the stairs, if 100, we will probably look somewhere else as I’m not sure I’m fit enough to get him to the top!

There have been plenty of times I cannot find enough information on the attraction’s own website, and I’ve simply decided not to go – I don’t want to arrive and for him to be disappointed that it’s not accessible when he’s been looking forward to visiting.

AccessAble’s Accessibility Guides are incredibly helpful when making our decision on where to visit.

Using AccessAble to visit London

We recently visited London for Sebby’s therapy and were looking for a bar within walking distance from our hotel that doesn’t have a lot of steps to get into. Fortunately, there was a BrewDog round the corner, and the Detailed Access Guide for the venue gave us the information that it was a level entry from the floor outside into the bar. We also could see the seating was an appropriate height for him. Chairs with no backs with a low table are tricky as he’s not quite stable enough, however picnic-style chairs are perfect as the table is high enough for him to lean on.

His therapy ended up with a performance at Rich Mix theatre. We looked at AccessAble’s Detailed Access Guide to Rich Mix for how to access the building. The Access Guide told us there was no parking outside and no drop-off area, so we knew we needed to take the train to Shoreditch High Street (not an easy task, and the journey involved other passengers helping get him and his racerunner on and off a couple of trains that were significantly higher than the platform and a fairly large gap!!). After a stressful journey, it was a relief when leaving the station to already know I could access Rich Mix via a ramp, and we could take a lift to the floor we needed. No stairs for us to navigate, it would be easy from now on!

Read More: 5 Accessible Apps for Disabled People

What happens when there are no Detailed Access Guides?

While in London we visited a museum that didn’t have the guides, therefore we didn’t have the information we needed. We took his Racerunner round with us. The venue turned out to be small enough that he did it all on his sticks – which meant I lugged the Racerunner all around the museum for no reason and had to keep finding places to leave it that didn’t block other visitor’s access to the exhibitions. It would have been nice to have the Accessibility Guide which would have given us the information we needed to know we could have left his RaceRunner in the buggy park.

Birmingham Cadbury World

As a treat, their grandparents took them to Cadbury World. Before booking tickets we checked the Detailed Access Guide for Cadbury World to make sure Sebby would be able to get around. We could see there were lifts and slopes, so it would be accessible to him. Great!! Although Sebby was more concerned with a much more important question; ‘does that mean I get to eat chocolate there!’ We also saw there was free of charge parking and the car park had 10 accessible parking bays, and we didn’t need to prebook them. This is also really important information when planning on if we park or ask someone to drop us off. However when we got there we had to park in the overflow car park, so quickly checked the guides to make sure it was a step-free path from there to the entrance. It was, so we were relaxed when heading to the building – well relaxed may be the wrong word as we still had four children’s excitement to contain!

Read more: 5 Accessible Days Out and Activities Across the UK

Using AccessAble to go abroad

The final bit of our holiday - a trip abroad! We’ve traveled abroad a lot for therapy for Sebby, and we know Bristol Airport well. So, a quick check of the AccessAble Accessibility Guide to Bristol Airport to make sure nothing has changed, (and we don’t automatically go to the area we normally go, to find it has changed!). If change has happened in a building AccessAble’s surveyors go back to the venue and update all of their Detailed Access Guides so I am confident when I look at them, that everything is where we normally find it, and we can arrive worry free!

We know where we are going to get the extra help we need getting through the airport, and how to get the Passenger Assistance onto the plane! Sadly, we don’t have Guides for Lisbon airport, so what happens there is a bit of a mystery, and we’ll just have to wing it and hope for the best!

Read More: Tackling Airport Anxiety with the AccessAble App